More than 10,000 students starting at Norwegian universities and colleges this week are stuck on lists waiting for a place to live. Demand is highest, as usual, in Oslo.
Even though the government has invested in more subsidized student housing projects in recent years, there’s still a shortage. Fully 3,528 students are hoping a student housing unit will open up for them in Oslo, while another 2,320 students are waiting for housing in Gjøvik, Ålesund and Trondheim.
There are around 41,000 student housing units (usually in the form of one-room apartments) in Norway. They’re managed by the agency Studentsamskipnadene, which was criticized this week by government minister Iselin Nybø for failing to get housing offers that do exist out to those in need.
Nybø also criticized local governments for taking too long to approve new student housing projects. One project in Oslo for 430 student housing units is still waiting for approval, two years and eight months after it was first proposed.
newsinenglish.no staff
